Linda Evangelista has recently hit the spotlight as she has reached a settlement after a botched cosmetic procedure that she claims left her “brutally disfigured.”
Who is Linda Evangelista?
Linda Evangelista was born on May 10, 1965, in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Evangelista is a Canadian model who is world-renowned for her work on Vogue Italia and 700 other magazine covers. She is well known as the muse of Steven Meisel, a popular photographer.
One of Evangelista’s most popular phrases is also known as one of the most popular quotes in the history of modeling.
Model Linda Evangelista attends the ‘China: Through The Looking Glass’ Costume Institute Benefit Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4, 2015, in New York City (Credit: Jennifer Graylock / INFphoto)
Evangelista famously said, “We don’t wake up for less than $10,000 a day.” Evangelista has always been an advocate for other models and has been a key player in ensuring they made good wages.
What is CoolSculpting?
CoolSculpting, also known as cryolipolysis, is a cosmetic treatment that is used to remove fat.
More specifically, it is an FDA-approved treatment that is used to try to break down fat in areas that are hard to pinpoint otherwise through exercise and diet.
CoolSculpting is a controversial treatment to reduce fat using controlled cooling (Credit: Pepermpron / Shutterstock)
CoolSculpting is said to freeze the fat cells, which kill them, causing the fat to dissipate. It is non-invasive, which made it the most common body sculpting procedure in the US in 2018.
Linda Evangelista’s CoolSculpting Experience
Evangelista visited a dermatologist’s office in 2015 to receive a CoolSculpting procedure that would change her life forever.
What was promised to be a noninvasive procedure that would reduce fat turned into something that would cost her tons of money and confidence.
Karl Lagerfeld and Linda Evangelista attend Chanel’s: The Little Black Jacket Event at Swiss Institute on June 6, 2012, in New York City (Credit: ACE / INFphoto)
Linda Evangelista filed a lawsuit against Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc., which is CoolSculpting’s parent company, for $50 million.
“Today I took a big step towards righting a wrong that I have suffered and have kept to myself for over five years,” Linda wrote on Instagram in September 2021.
“To my followers who have wondered why I have not been working while my peers’ careers have been thriving, the reason is that I was brutally disfigured by Zeltiq’s CoolSculpting procedure which did the opposite of what it promised.”
“It increased, not decreased, my fat cells and left me permanently deformed even after undergoing two painful, unsuccessful, corrective surgeries. I have been left, as the media has described, ‘unrecognizable.’”
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“I have developed Paradoxical Adipose Hyperplasia or PAH, a risk of which I was not made aware before I had the procedures,” Linda added about her deep depression.
“PAH has not only destroyed my livelihood, it has sent me into a cycle of deep depression, profound sadness, and the lowest depths of self-loathing. In the process, I have become a recluse.”
“With this lawsuit, I am moving forward to rid myself of my shame, and going public with my story,” Linda wrote. “I am so tired of living this way. I would like to walk out my door with my head high, despite not looking like myself any longer.”
Evangelista went through seven sessions of the procedure, and in 2016, after gaining weight in the very areas she’d been trying to lose weight in, her doctor diagnosed her with Paradoxical adipose hyperplasia.
PAH is a result of the freezing procedure done in CoolSculpting. It causes the targeted fatty tissue to expand and even thicken, making it impossible to get rid of even with liposuction in many scenarios.
CoolSculpting Tried to Give Evangelista Hush Money
Evangelista was contacted by CoolSculpting and told that they would pay for her to have liposuction done by a renowned surgeon that they chose.
The day before the procedure was to take place, the company informed her that they would only pay for liposuction if she signed something promising not to speak about her experience. Evangelista walked away and paid for two full-body surgeries herself.
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Unfortunately, the PAH continued to come back. It causes chafing that can be so extreme that it causes bleeding, it has ruined her posture, and she says that she just doesn’t look like herself anymore.
Evangelista told People, “I don’t recognize myself physically, but I don’t recognize me as a person any longer either. She is sort of gone.”
Next Steps for Linda Evangelista
Evangelista has hidden for years after her botched CoolSculpting procedure. It has caused her to stop modeling for a while, but she is done hiding in the shadows.
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She told People, “I’m not going to hide anymore,” and she hopes to be a beacon of light for those who have dealt with the same situation